"The answer is Love and Compassion for all Humanity."
Bill Pelke, founder

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Members of the Team Journey for Africa; Bill Babbitt

I was asked by a friend if I would write about how Team Journey for Africa was selected.
When Bill Babbitt and I committed to going to Africa, things began to fall in place very quickly.

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So first of all I would like to tell you a little bit about Bill Babbitt.

Bill Babbitt supported the death penalty until it came knocking on his door. Bill Babbitt turned his brother Manny over to the authorities when he realized his brother was involved in a violent crime. Instead of Manny getting the mental health treatment he needed the State of California executed him. Bill Babbitt watched his brother die in the San Quentin death house. Bill feels like he has Manny’s blood on his hands. Many have seen the picture of their mother Josephine at the execution vigil. That photo was on the cover of Capital Consequences: Families of the Condemned Tell Their Stories, a book written by Rachel King who was a friend of ours.

Bill joined us for his first Journey in Texas in 2005 and brought his niece, Manny’s daughter Desiree. In 2008 Bill committed to joining us on the Montana Journey of Hope. He received a phone call from someone inviting him to Jamaica for a speaking tour taking place at the same time as the Montana Journey. Bill had always wanted to go to Jamaica, but because he wanted to keep his word to me, he declined their offer.

The main reason Bill wanted to come on the Montana Journey in the first place was that David Kaczynski was also going to be on it. David gained international attention when he turned his brother in after realizing that his brother Ted could have been the Unabomber. Instead of getting the mental health treatment Ted needed the government decided to seek death. Ted ended up with a life without the possibility of Parole (LWOP). David befriended Bill and campaigned with Bill unsuccessfully to try and get Manny’s death sentenced overturned.

Bill and David became good friends and as a team of speakers they are the best. We have always referred to them as the Journey’s A Team. They were also together on several Texas Journeys and this past year in Indiana.

In 2011 my good friend Dirk Sisson said he would send me to Uganda with his frequent flyer miles when he found out Edward Mpagi had invited the Journey to help him in his lonely battle against the death penalty. In turn, the first person I called was Bill Babbitt and asked him to join me in Uganda by using frequent flyer miles I had accumulated during my travels.
We met Edward’s friend Ronald Katongole in Uganda. Edward had suffered a stroke a few weeks before we arrived but did not tell us for fear we would not come. Edward knew that Ronald would take great care of us as host and he did.

Ronald is a wonderful young man. On this Journey Ronald will be our host, chief organizer and friend. The Journey of Hope has a special relationship with Ronald. We were able to bring him to Indiana last year to help Edward, who was sent to join us by the World Coalition to Against the Death Penalty at our request.

The 2011 African Journey also went to Rwanda and Kenya.

The trip to Africa changed Bill Babbitt’s life. Bill is a Christian man with a strong faith in God. He feels God’s hand is leading him back to Africa. Many in Africa call him Babu, a sign of honor.
Babu feels that Uganda is very close to abolishing the death penalty. It is on the books, but it is de facto, because they have not used it since 1999. Bill feels like with a little nudge from the Journey that the death penalty in Uganda can be abolished.

Babu is going to Africa with the message of love and compassion for all of humanity. The death penalty is inhumane and if anyone is an eye witness to that fact it is Bill Babbitt.

Bill told me that since I took him to Africa the first time he would raise money and/or use his credit card to pay for the two of us to go. How could I say no? That is what I call an open door. With Bill and I committed to going, I knew we would have to make it another Journey of Hope. We both knew there would be something special about this Journey.

I told him I would raise and/or use my credit to bring Randy Gardner to Africa. Randy went in 2011 and it was a life changing experience for him too. Bill was 100% in agreement that it would be great to have Randy go again.

Randy and Bill have several things in common. Randy’s brother was also executed. Both executions drew wide media attention. Manny had been a hero in the Vietnam War and Randy’s brother, Ronnie Lee Gardner, was shot through the heart by a Firing Squad in the State of Utah.

A few days later after talking per chance with my friend Curtis McCarty, I told Babu that I would do the same for Curtis as I had pledged for Randy. Curtis is a death row exoneree like Edward. Curtis and Randy have powerful stories that give great witness the need for abolition.

I knew we had a great core of four to start the Journey with. In my next blog post I will share more about Randy and Curtis and how their powerful stories are an important part of the message we are taking to Africa.
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I know we all have each other’s back. That is such a blessing.

In following blogs I will be sharing who the other team members and why they were chosen. We will all complement each other on team Africa.

Bill Pelke

Bill Pelke, Anchorage AK -- Bill authored a book entitled Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, which details the May 14, 1985 murder of his grandmother Ruth Elizabeth Pelke, a Bible teacher, by four teenage girls. Paula Cooper who was deemed to be the ringleader was sentenced to die in the electric chair by the state of Indiana. She was fifteen-years-old at the time of the murder. Pelke originally support the sentence of death for Cooper, but went through a spiritual transformation in 1986 after praying for love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family. He became successfully involved in an international crusade on Paula's behalf and in 1989 her sentenced was commuted to sixty years in prison. Over 2 million people from Europe, mostly Italy, signed petitions that Paula be removed from death row. Pope John Paul II’s request for mercy, Paula was taken off of death row and her sentence commuted to sixty years. Bill, a retired steelworker, has dedicated his life to working for abolition of the death penalty. He shares his story of forgiveness and compassion and the healing power of forgiveness. Pelke has traveled to over forty states and ten countries with the Journey of Hope and has told his story thousands of timesFactsPresident and Co-founder of Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing; Chair - PresentBoard Member Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing; 1997-PresentBoard: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; 1996-Present Chair 2004-08 Founding Board Member of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights 2004Board Member MVFHR; 2004-PresentIncorporator of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation;1993Board Member MVFR; 1991-1998Board Member; Alaskans Against the Death Penalty Cofounder Abolitionist Action Committee; 1993 Author: Journey of Hope…from Violence to HealingLinks to Bill's JourneyThe Hard Road to Forgiveness - Yes Magazine - Mary Sue PennMoving Towards Abolition - The Witness Some murder victims' kin reject capital punishment; others endorse the sanction - Richmond Times-DispatchIn Memory of James V. Allridge IIIBill Pelke's portrait at "Our friends in prison"The Optimism Club - Bill Pelke "Forgiveness vs revenge"Interview with Swiss organization "Lifespark"the greatest part of God’s love is the forgiveness that

George White

George White, ALOn February 27, 1985 in Enterprise, Alabama, George was living his little piece of the American Dream. Husband of Charlene and father of Tom and Christie, he was a successful, business-degreed executive, Sunday school teacher, little league coach and PTA president -- a yuppie in southeast Alabama. That evening everything changed.When George, vice-president of Townsend Building Supply, Inc., and his wife, Char, stopped at his store after business hours, they thought they were doing a favor for a man who urgently needed an item for an emergency home repair. Instead, they experienced firsthand the insanity and horror of murder. A masked gunman entered the building and shot the pair repeatedly during an armed robbery. George suffered gunshot wounds to his left arm, thigh and abdomen during a struggle with the gunman. Following emergency surgery, George survived. His wife was not so lucky. Char was pronounced dead at the hospital after sustaining two gunshot wounds to the head. Tom and Christie were only twelve and five at the time of their mother's death. The nightmare had only just begun.Sixteen months later George was charged with the murder of his wife. The State sought the death penalty, and, following a trial that was later characterized as a mockery and a sham, George was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Incarcerated for a total of two years, one hundred and three days, the conviction was overturned in 1989. George remained in legal limbo for nearly three more years. On April 10, 1992, the prosecution asked that the charge be forevermore dismissed when the proof of George's innocence finally surfaced. The trial court so ruled. The ordeal had lasted for more than seven years.As a survivor of a violent crime, husband of a murder victim, suspect, accused, indigent defendant, convicted murderer, and innocent man exonerated, George understands fully how easy it would be to advocate revenge. However, as a family the Whites reject the death penalty as a solution to heal the wounds of their loss. George says, "I believe that society's laws must offer relief for a victim's anger and loss, and we must be afforded protection from those who would harm us; however, one cannot stop the shedding of blood by causing more blood to be shed. No amount of killing would restore Char to my family or take away the pain of losing her. What began with a horrible act ofviolence should not be memorialized with an act of vengeance." By Abe BonowitzFactsJourney of Hope Cofounder Journey of Hope Board Member 1997-2003; 2006-Journey Ambassador MVFR Board Member 1994-1998

Readers

Journey of Hope... from Violence to Healing Texas Tour 2010

Bill Pelke

Bill Pelke, Anchorage AKBill authored a book entitled Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, which details the May 14, 1985 murder of his grandmother Ruth Elizabeth Pelke, a Bible teacher, by four teenage girls. Paula Cooper who was deemed to be the ringleader was sentenced to die in the electric chair by the state of Indiana. She was fifteen-years-old at the time of the murder. Pelke originally support the sentence of death for Cooper, but went through a spiritual transformation in 1986 after praying for love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family. He became successfully involved in an international crusade on Paula's behalf and in 1989 her sentenced was commuted to sixty years in prison. Over 2 million people from Europe, mostly Italy, signed petitions that Paula be removed from death row. Pope John Paul II’s request for mercy, Paula was taken off of death row and her sentence commuted to sixty years. Bill, a retired steelworker, has dedicated his life to working for abolition of the death penalty. He shares his story of forgiveness and compassion and the healing power of forgiveness. Pelke has traveled to over forty states and ten countries with the Journey of Hope and has told his story thousands of timesFactsPresident and Co-founder of Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing; Chair - PresentBoard Member Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing; 1997-PresentBoard: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; 1996-Present Chair 2004-08 Founding Board Member of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights 2004Board Member MVFHR; 2004-PresentIncorporator of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation;1993Board Member MVFR; 1991-1998Board Member; Alaskans Against the Death Penalty Cofounder Abolitionist Action Committee; 1993 Author: Journey of Hope…from Violence to HealingLinks to Bill's JourneyThe Hard Road to Forgiveness - Yes Magazine - Mary Sue PennMoving Towards Abolition - The Witness Some murder victims' kin reject capital punishment; others endorse the sanction - Richmond Times-DispatchIn Memory of James V. Allridge IIIBill Pelke's portrait at "Our friends in prison"The Optimism Club - Bill Pelke "Forgiveness vs revenge"Interview with Swiss organization "Lifespark"the greatest part of God’s love is the forgiveness that love brings.”